An extraordinary meeting of Andean skill and contemporary creation is the central theme of this exhibition, emerging from sixty years of discussions, travel and friendship between two women with remarkable careers.

One, Sheila Hicks, an American artist renowned for her work on colour and material, has established yarn as an open and bold visual language. The other, Monique Lévi-Strauss, an art historian, has dedicated her life to the study of textile practices in the non-Western world.
Their friendship has led to a rich dialogue between old collections and current works. The exhibition frames some twenty pieces preserved at the museum in response to around thirty creations by Sheila Hicks.Inspired by ancient Andean weaving, her work offers a reinterpretation of the gestures that transform textile material: knotting, weaving, braiding, coiling, tying. Through this correlation, a history of the textile develops which spans eras, cultures and continents.

Curated by Isaline Saunier, Head of Technical Studies of the Textile Collections at the musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac

Text: Musée du quai Branly

Installation views, Sheila Hicks, Le fil voyageur, 2025, Musée du quai Branly.
Photos: Léo Delafontaine
© musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac, photo Léo Delafontaine